![\"Sunil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PTI02-20-2025-000097A-0_1744022924676_1764641524357.jpg\" "\\"Sunil")
Sunil Gavaskar is not pleased with the ICC’s double standards for Test pitches.(PTI) <\/p>\nSunil Gavaskar has thrown a fresh spotlight on what really defines batting skill – and it\u2019s not what the global narrative has told us for years.<\/p>\n
Sunil Gavaskar is not pleased with the ICC’s double standards for Test pitches.(PTI) <\/p>\n
In his latest column for Sportstar, the India great argues that playing quality spin on turning pitches demands a higher level of talent than handling fast bowling on pacy tracks, challenging a long-held bias in favour of bounce and speed.<\/p>\n
Writing in the context of the Perth Ashes Test and the debate around the double standards over pitches, Gavaskar doesn\u2019t just defend subcontinental turners – he flips the skill hierarchy itself. For him, the real examination of a batter\u2019s technique, footwork and game-reading still happens on surfaces where the ball grips, dips and turns.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurning track demands higher skill\u201d: Sunil Gavaskar<\/p>\n
For Gavaskar, the real examination begins when the ball starts to grip and turn. \u201cTo counter spin, it is not just about playing forward or back, but also about going down the pitch to smother the turn and attack the ball. That\u2019s where skill comes in,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
He acknowledges that some modern batters try to flip the script on fast bowling, but is dismissive of the approach. \u201cYes, I am well aware that today some batters do advance down the pitch to the quicks,\u201d he writes. \u201cBut it\u2019s more a desperate, premeditated measure than a reflex technical move. It can come off, just as it does when batters move away from stumps or across them to play limited-overs shots. More than skill, it is luck that makes it come off, but never on a consistent basis.\u201d<\/p>\n